North East mayor Kim McGuinness has inked two agreements with Japanese industrial titan Hitachi, which she believes will usher in jobs and greener transport to the region. The contracts, signed in Tokyo, will see Hitachi collaborate with the Port of Tyne to advance its ambitions of decarbonising shipping in the area, whilst the Japanese firm will also assist the North East Combined Authority in achieving its goal of making all its buses zero-emission within ten years.

Following the Government's announcement in September that the North East would become the nation's first AI Growth Zone, the mayoral authority plans to work with Hitachi on how its HMAX platform can fuel AI-powered innovation. Hitachi already boasts a significant presence in the North East via its rail factory at Newton Aycl

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